Chables l



(No Model.)

' G. L. SNYDER.

GRIPPER FOR CABLE RAILWAY CARS.

No. 398,181. Patented Nov. 2 0, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

GHARLES L. SNYDER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOISAAC M. RIDGE, OF SAME PLACE.

GRIPPER FOR CABLE-RAILWAY CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,181, dated November20, 1888.

Application filed January 31, 1888. Serial No. 262,543.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES L. SNYDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grippers forCable-Railway Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to an improvement in grippers for cable-railwaycars.

The object is to provide a gripper which shall consist of few partsassembled in such manner as to render it capable of being readilyoperated under all ordinary circumstances, and in which the wear due tofriction shall be reduced to a minimum.

A further object is to provide a gripper in which the means foradjusting the gripperframe to take up the wear shall at the same timeserve as standard-supports for a portion of the supporting-frame of thegripper-operdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the gripper and itsoperating mechanism in side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a view of the samein transverse vertical section about centrally through the gripper.

Fig. 3 is a view of one of the gripping-teeth. Fig. 4 is a partial planview of one of the jaws, showing the recess for inserting thegripping-teeth.

Arepresents the supporting-bar,adapted to extend horizontally along thefloorof the car, or beneath or above the floor, as may be desired, andis conveniently provided with mortises a near its ends for conveniencein securing'it in position above the opening between the slot-irons inthe road-bed. (Not shown.)

(No model.)

The central portion of the supporting-bar A is provided with anelongated vertical slot, at, in which the gripper-head B is adapted toslide. From the bar A, at opposite ends of the said elongated slot a,depend the supporting bars or standards 0, to the lower ends of whichthe lower stationary grip-jaw, D,'is firmly fixed.

The upper or movable gripping-jaw, E, is provided near its ends withvertical sockets e, adapted to loosely embrace the depending standards0, to serve to guide the jaw in its movements toward or away from thelower stationary jaw, D. The jaw E is connected with the gripper-head bya flat plate, b. The standards 0 and plate I) are intended to be ofsubstantially the same thickness, and are intended to travel freelyalong the narrow opening between the slot-irons, hereinbefore referredto.

The lower or stationary jaw, D, is provided at each end with a pair ofloose pulleys, d, for supporting the cable when the same is releasedfrom between the jaws-as, for example, when the train is standing at astation. The ends of the jaw D are projected convenient distances fromthe body of thejaw, and terminate in upv wardly-inclined ears d, throughwhich extend. axial bolts d, on which the pulleys d are mounted, one oneach side of each ear d. The axial bolts d are provided with enlarged Irounded heads or washers d which determine the position of the pulleyson the bolts.

The ends of the movable jaw E are provided with vertical perforations e,in which are secured the ends of vertical bolts F, on which are mountedvertical spools G, the latter terthe spools G are conveniently held inthe proper position on the bolts F by means of providing the bolts withannular shoulders f, adapted to be seated in corresponding sockets inthe. lower ends of the spools.

The uppermost portions of the pulleys d are slightly above the upperface of the stationary jaw D, so that when the movable jaw E is raised ashort distance the cable rests on the jaw D.

Both the upper and lower jaws of the gripper are provided on theirgrippingfaces with dovetail recesses II, extending longitudinally alongthe jaw and adapted to receive the dovetail heads or backs of thegripping teeth or bars I. I prefer to provide the faces of the grippingjaws at some one point with slots 0 sufficiently large to admit one ofthe gripping teeth or bars I to be inserted therein by a movementdirectly from the face of the bar toward the back of the same, and tothen slide the said teeth or bars along the dovetail groove II towardthe opposite end of the bar until the groove is filled with the saidteeth or bars, or until a sufficient number have been inserted to affordthe desired extended contact with the cable, and to then look the teethor bars firmly in that position by means of a set-screw, K, inserted inthe end of the jaw, with its end in contact with and pressing againstthe end tooth or bar, I; but it is obvious that the said teeth or bars Imight be slid into the dovetail groove II at the end of one of thejaws,the same being left open for that purpose, and might be locked thereinby a set-screw extending through the back of the jaw into engagementwith the end tooth or bar; or other well-known and approved means mightbe employed to lock the teeth or bars in their positions in the dovetailgrooves. This construction admits of renewing the grip-faces as often asmay be desired and with very little loss of time, and ren- ,ders itfeasible to employ for such grippingii'aces other than metallicsubstances-such, for example, as vulcanized fiber, wood, or the like-ofwhich material I make the teeth or i bars I.

The gripper is operated by means of the following mechanism: Across-head, L, is provided with an elongated vertical opening, Z, inwhich a pair of segment gear-wheels, M, are located and journaled in theopposite sides of the cross-head. Between and above the gear-wheels Mthe actuating segment gearwheel N is journaled in position tosimultaneously mesh with the gear on the wheels M. A pair of pitmen, O,are loosely secured at one end eccentrieally to the gear-wheels M andloosely secured at the opposite end to lugs b, extending upward from theopposite ends of the cross-head B of the gripper. The connection of thepitman with the gear-wheels M is such that when the wheels are rotatedin the 1 same direction the pressure will be equal upon the pitmen, andhence the opposite ends of the cross-head B will be pressed down ordrawn .up simultaneously with the same amount of force. This serves toeffectually overcome any tendency which the gripper may have to bindbecause of the slight retracting of either of its edges or ends from anycause, and serves to slide it up and down with the least possible amountof friction or undue wear.

It will be observed that the location of the actuating gear-wheel N andgear-wheels M will cause the two wheels M to simultaneously rotate inthe same direction when the gearwheel N is rocked in either direction.

The cross-head L is supported in its position, above and parallel withthe bar A, by means of a pair of bolts, I, extending through verticalsockets Z in its ends and through corresponding sockets, aF, in the-barA. The said bolts 1? are secured in position in the bar A by means ofjam-nuts p, and the upper ends of the said bolts are threaded for aconsiderable distance and provided with nntsp,adapted to engage theopposite ends of the sockets Z and thereby secure the cross-head L inthe desired adjustment toward and away from the bar A, thereby givingthe pitmen Oa greater or less throw, and hence causing the movable jaw Eof the gripper to move a greater or less distance toward and from thestationary jaw D, and hence serving to take up any wear that may occuron the grip-faces.

The gear-wheel N is secured to the lower end of an operating-lever, 7c,said lever being provided with a slot near its lower end, through whichextends a segment-bar, S, the ends of which are secured firmly to thecross-head L. The segment-bar S is provided with teeth on its outeredge, and the operating-lever k is provided with a dog, 1-, pivotedthereto and adapted to engage the teeth on the segmentbar and therebylock the lever in a position to hold the movable jaw E in grippingcontact,

with the cable. The dog a" is held in a normally-depressed adjustment bymeans of a spring, 0*, inserted between its upper face and the stop orshoulder r on the lever, and the said dog is operated by means of a rodleading from a small bell-crank lever, T, near the handle end of thelever B, to the dog, as is common in operating-levers of this class.

To grip the cable, throw the lever R forward in the direction of thearrow until the movable jaw E has been brought in snug contacttherewith. The dog 0* will hold it in this position. To release thecable, grasp the oper' ating-lever It with the hand at a point where thehandle of the bell-crank lever T is located and press the handle of saidbell-crank lever toward the operating-lever R, thereby releasing the dog1- from the teeth of the segment-bar, and then throw the lever B back inthe direction opposite to that in which the arrow points,which movementwill elevate the movable jaw E, and by means of the spools G will throwthe cable onto the loose pulleys d.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination,with asuitable support,

and a gripper-jaw secured to the support in sliding adjustment, of apair of gripper-operating pitmen located on opposite sides of the centerof the gripper-jaw, cranks for operating the pitmen, and a lever adaptedto simultaneously operate the cranks, substantially as set forth.

2. The combinatiomwith a suitable supporting-frame and a grippingjawsecured to the frame in sliding adj ustn1ent,ofa pair of gear wheelsjournaled in the frame, a pair of pitmen eccentrically connected withthe gear-wheels and connected with the gripper-jaw on opposite sides ofthe center, a gear-wheel in mesh with the two aforesaid gear-wheels, anda lever for operating the said gear-wheel,whereby force is exertedsimultaneously upon opposite ends of the grip -j aw, substantially asset forth.

3. The combination,with a suitable supporting-frame, of a gripping-jawsecured thereto in sliding adjustment, a cross-head, a flat plateconnecting the cross-head with the sliding jaw, a pair of segmentgear-wheels journaled in the frame, pitmen connecting the gearwheelswith the cross-head, said pitmen secured to the gearwheclseceentrieally,an actuating gear-wheel journaled in the frame be tweenthe two segment gear-wheels and in mesh therewith, a lever for operatingthe said actuating gear-wheel, a toothed segment-bar embraced bythelever, aspring actuated dog pivoted to the lever in position toengage the toothed segment-bar, and means for operating the dog,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with a stationary supporting-frame, a stationary jawsecured thereto and a sliding jaw mounted therein. and asupporting-frame for the grip-operating mechanism, of a pair ofstandard-bolts provided with screw threads and nuts, the said boltshaving seats at their lower ends in the stationary supporting-frame andat their upper ends in the supporting-frame for the gripactuatingmechanism, whereby the frame for the grip-actuating mechanism may beadjusted toward and away from the stationary frame, substantially as setfort-h.

5. The combination, with the gripping-jaw provided with a dovetailrecess closed at its end, of a dovetail tooth or bar set in the dovetailrecess,the said tooth or bar being provided with shoulders in engagementwith the face of the jaw, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a gripping-jawprovided with a dovetail recessin its face, of a series of grip teeth or bars provided with dovetailbacks seated in the said recess in the grippingjaw, and a set-screw inengagement with the side of one of the end teeth or bars for locking thegripping-teeth in position in the jaw, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination,with the stationary jaw provided with loose pulleysat its ends and a movable jaw, and means for actuating the movable jaw,of bolts secured in the ends of the movablejaw-and provided with endextension adapted to slide freely in the perforations in the stationaryjaw, and flaring-faced spools located vertically on the said bolts,whereby the cable is thrown outwardly off the loose pulleys when themovable jaw is raised, and the movable jaw is held against lateraldisplacement during its upward and downward movement, substantially asset forth.

8. The combination, with the stationary j aw provided with loose pulleysat its ends, a movable jaw, and means for actuating the movable jaw, ofbolts secured in the ends of the movable jaw and provided with end eX-WVitnesses:

F. O. FARR, BEssIE E. YOUNG.

